new 10 gal-dont know what to do

[mrmarine]

hey im new to fresh water and i just got a 10 gallon tank and i have some questions

1-what do you do to cycle,how long does it take,do you need ro water or tap water then dechlorinator??

2- can you put sand in like crushed coral or just stick to the stones??

3- do you need alot of light?

4-do you have to vaccum the substrate or can you just stir it up and let the filter get it??

5- how often for water changes??

Thanks,

Mr. Marine

 

[mhaynes01]

not sure how the correst way is to cycle nut i got so minnows and did it that way (i know its wrong) tap water with decloranator will work

stick to the gravel

depends on fish but at least 15 watts

vaccum gravel

i do a 1 to 2 gallon water change weekly depends on water quality

 

[duaumun]

1-what do you do to cycle,how long does it take,do you need ro water or tap water then dechlorinator??

First, Half and half for the water. I cycled my planted tank by letting it sit for a week. That ony works with plants though.

2- can you put sand in like crushed coral or just stick to the stones??

I have stones and they look a ton better than my crushed coral.

3- do you need alot of light?

For a planted tank you need a special bulb. Other than that, probably not but it depends on the fish.

4-do you have to vaccum the substrate or can you just stir it up and let the filter get it??

Vacuum. The harmful stuff could bug your fish then.

5- how often for water changes??

After the tank is running, the end of the first two months. After that, on a monthly basis. Good luck.

 

[medge00]

hey! Welcome to our side... lets see what we can tackle here...

1st, what kind of fish are you planning to keep? If your taps ph is between 6.5 and 7.5 you have a lot of options. You'll only need ro water if your water is very hard. Even then, you can put peat in your filter to lower the ph a bit.

Are you planting this tank? That will greatly affect some of your choices. If you are planting it, go with some type of substrate intended for plants: flourite and eco complete are good (actually, the best), I use flora base. Some use peat as a bottom layer with sand.... If you are not planting the tank, aquarium safe gravel is fine, be sure though that it is inert (meaning it won't change your ph)

Cycling.... well, you can go the bio spira route, if you're ready to get fish in there fast. Do you have a bio wheel? you can switch your new bio wheel or filter pad even with one from a mature tank (check your lfs). This will introduce good bacteria to your tank to jump start the cycle. Or if you have a friend with a freshwater tank, ask for a cup of their dirt (with fish poo). I cycled my tank with a cup of borrowed dirt and 2 hardy fish. It took about 3 weeks, it can take longer, or shorter (especially if you also swap out your bio wheel or filter pad). Many people advocate cycling without fish. There are many ways to approach this, I'm sure they'll jump in.

Lighting. You'll need at least 2 wpg if you intend to put real plants in. If you don't intend to plant it, what ever fits into your hood will be fine. In fact you will be able to grow a few very low light plants if you desire. What kind of lighting does your 10 take?

I vacuum my tank once every other month. Part of that is because I have lots of plants, and they like fish poo. Some people vacuum more often, say once a week or every other week. Maybe some one will jump in here and offer more advice.

Water changes. Once a week, minimum. But its so fast with a ten gallon! I do about 20-30% once a week. It takes me about 5 min to change the water in my ten gallon.

Does this help?

 

[mrmarine]

Thank you everyone for the great advice

Mr. Marine